1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination storage and display system, and in particular to a system that is modular, provides high density storage and easy display of mattresses.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is typical for mattresses to be displayed at the retail level in order to allow a potential purchaser to observe and try-out the mattresses. One obstacle in displaying mattresses is the amount of square feet a display occupies. In this regard, there is limited floor space and retailers typically desire to increase the number of displays per square foot.
Several racks or displays have been developed over the years. Some examples include:
U.S. Pat. No. (hereafter “USPN”) 682,004 to Tucker is titled Sectional Display Rack. This patent illustrates a rack for mattresses and pillows.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,306 to Delaney is titled Mattress Display Rack. It shows a rack used to display mattresses and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,348,398 to Lorey is titled Rack. It shows a device for storing large articles such as mattresses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,085 to Drexhage is titled Tip-Up Bed and Post Tensioned Bedding Retainer. It shows a pillow and bedding retainer for a made-up tip-up bed includes a flexible concave panel extending across a bed storage recess. The panel is freely mounted in a parallel spaced pair of horizontal open channels attached to a pivot frame forming a bedding cavity. As the bed is tilted from a horizontal position to a vertical position through an intermediate position the upper edge of the head of a mattress slidingly engages and presses the panel rearwardly further into the storage recess and tensions the pillow and upper bedding portions against the mattress head top surface retaining them in a diminishing volume of the cavity. The center of curvature of the panel is displaced from the pivot axis of the bed and the panel has a radius of curvature greater than the radius of curvature of the bed pivot axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,085 to Sando is titled Apparatus for the Display and Storage of Mattresses. It teaches an apparatus for the display and storage of mattresses, especially one which utilizes available space to optimum advantage, minimizes storage space, and facilitates ready removal of mattress from storage for display. The apparatus is constituted generally of a housing, inclusive of floor frame, supports, and ceiling frame providing mattress display and storage areas. Mattress display and storage carriages are suspended from and mounted on overhead tracks affixed to the ceiling, these traversing both the storage and display areas. Mattresses contained within said mattress display and storage carriages can be stored in tandem within the storage area to minimize storage space, independently transported into the display area, and mattresses unloaded for display. Suitably, a floor-attached rail within the storage area provides a ready and convenient means for the transport of a box spring upon which mattresses can be discharged from the display and storage carriages and laid out for viewing.
While these inventions may work well for their intended purposes, none show the unique aspects of the present invention.
For example, none show a combination storage and display unit that has a two sided entry, that is free from obstructions from above and that has a small lip that maintains the mattress orientation as the mattress support assembly rotates relative the translating bar.
Additionally, none show a combination of a pivotal leg and a pivoting leg support wherein the mattress height is determined by the respective pivots, yet, the mattresses are held in a high density arrangement.
Further, none show a combination storage and display system that stores mattresses on an angled plane relative the floor, whereby they are stable rotationally, yet easily pivotal to a display orientation that is parallel to the floor.
Thus there exists a need for a combination storage and display system that solves these and other problems.